<p>30K+ indebtedness sounds like a lot of money for a 4 yr degree. Would you recommend a GWU degree if your future aspirations are to work for uncle sam in the State Department, NGO or as Obama's 2nd presidential term financial advisor?</p>
<p>Yes! Grad school probably won’t be necessary bc of the GW connections. When other kids are adding to their indebtedness, you’re starting to pay yours off with your entry level job that will continue to climb the ranks when others are still in grad school. Anyway, that’s my plan.</p>
<p>In addition to what Waves said, if you choose to work for the government upon graduation, there are many federal loan forgiveness/loan repayment assistance programs. These vary according to agency, but they should really be of help.</p>
<p>However, I’m not going to say “go to GW no matter what.” Taking out loans is indeed a very serious matter in this economy. If you do have other less-expensive options for college, please talk with your parents and your high school counselors to see what the best option for your individual situation is. I have no doubt that GW has the best opportunities for internships in the area you described, but it varies depending on each person’s situation whether or not those opportunities compensate for the investment.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat, except for business. I know GW is fantastic for internships and connections with IR but does the same hold true for business??? I don’t want to have a 30-40k debt if I don’t have an internship or two under my belt and hopefully even a job by the time I graduate. I heard that the career center is not too great from more than one person so i’m kind of weary about going, especially when I know I can go to a state school with no debt. I just want to make sure business students have the same fantastic opportunities as those studying IR.</p>
<p>dtc727-My D attended GW and was not involved with politics at all. She got great internships in her field by using GWORKS the GW on-line database of local jobs and internships. She also constantly received e-mail blasts from her department about great job opportunities in D.C. in her field.</p>
<p>dtc: Yes, GW gives you great opportunities for business internships as well. However, also consider the quality of your state school business program. Many state schools have better business programs than GW and will provide you with equal job prospects, so as much as I love GW, I don’t think it would make sense to come here if you could go to an equal/better school for free.</p>
<p>spitfiregator-I think you got a fantastic financial deal at GW, according to your earlier posts, and especially given your career goals. I do not think 30K indebtedness over 4 years is extreme. I just read an article in the NY Times this weekend saying that you should estimate your salary upon graduation and use that as a guideline for your debt limit. So if you will make $45,000/year upon graduation that should be your debt limit for your 4-year degree. Most people in Elliot intern at jobs on the hill or in the state dept, etc during the year and receive job offers from those same employers upon graduation (that’s what happened to my D’s friends at least).</p>
<p>yea gw senior i hear ya. my state school option would be SUNY Binghamton, which aside from being a good school in general, is also a pretty great business school. it’s weird though, i got into multiple business programs that would be considered by most to be “better” than GW’s but i am very drawn to the school. though i’m not an IR major i am very into politics and like a city environment. but i’m finding that the more i research the business program, the less impressed i am with it (though this could just be due to the information-less business school website) and maybe the debt isn’t worth it after all. oh well, i have 9 days to decide so we’ll see what happens!!! i just want to make sure if i do decide to go there that i’ll be set with internships and jobs and whatnot even though i won’t be in the elliott school.</p>
<p>I think I posted this in another thread, but here is a link to the listing of concentrations for the business school and the curriculum (click on a concentration to get the required courses): [The</a> George Washington University University School of Business](<a href=“http://business.gwu.edu/ugrad/academics/fouryear/concentrations/index.cfm]The”>http://business.gwu.edu/ugrad/academics/fouryear/concentrations/index.cfm)
Sorry if you have already seen that, I just know another poster had a hard time finding it and found it to be helpful.</p>
<p>Anyway, I really would not worry at all about being able to find an internship. There are so so so many internship postings on GWork in EVERYTHING, not just politics- I really have never heard of a student wanting an internship (and setting up their schedule to accommodate one) and not finding one. If you like politics and being in DC, I think it’s worth it to come here. If you just want a solid business degree and minimal debt, go to Binghamton. Good luck in making the decision!</p>